Leave It All Behind
by YlvaThorgalsdottir
Summary: Bella comes to her senses and realizes some of the men in her life don't actually want what's best for her.


_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

Thanks to Sirya Black for the beginning and the idea. Don't know what I'd do without her.

Paragraphs in all italics are direct quotes from _Eclipse._

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**After Jacob**

"_She thinks she broke her hand," I heard Jacob tell him. I went to the freezer and pulled out a tray of ice cubes. _

"_How did she do that?" As my father, I thought Charlie ought to sound a bit less amused and a bit more concerned. _

_Jacob laughed. "She hit me." _

_Charlie laughed, too, and I scowled while I beat the tray against the edge of the sink. The ice scattered inside the basin, and I grabbed a handful with my good hand and wrapped the cubes in the dishcloth on the counter. _

"_Why did she hit you?" _

"_Because I kissed her," Jacob said, unashamed._

"_Good for you, kid," Charlie congratulated him._

I froze in shock and turned to stare at Charlie with in disbelief. Charlie was facing away from me and didn't see the tears of humiliation and rage that filled my eyes. "How dare you!" I snarled at his back.

Charlie turned toward me, still laughing with Jacob who was now looking proud of himself because of Charlie's encouragement, until they saw the tears running down my face. Charlie gave me an uncomfortable look and came towards me. "Are you seriously hurt Bells?"

I pulled away from him and shook my head. "You are honestly congratulating him on sexually assaulting your own daughter?" I was angry now, but also scared. My own father? I couldn't believe it. He once spent our entire two weeks of summer vacation in California teaching me to defend myself. Obviously, most of it hadn't gone home, as he _had_ said to use the heel of my hand rather than the fist… but _still_. What was he _thinking_? Was Jake really that much more important to him than I was?

Both of them looked taken aback by the accusation. "It was only a kiss Bells. Your boyfriend isn't going to hit you over it, is he?" Jacob sneered.

"You're going to find out." I snapped as I picked up the phone and called Edward's cell.

"Now Bells…" My dad began but I turned my back on him and concentrated on the ringing.

"_Bella?" he answered on the first ring. He sounded more than relieved — he was delighted. I could hear the Volvo's engine in the background; he was already in the car — that was good. "You left the phone . . . I'm sorry, did Jacob drive you home?" _

"_Yes," I grumbled. "Will you come and get me, please?" _

"_I'm on my way," he said at once. "What's wrong?"_

"I need to move out of here now." I said as calmly as possible, but I didn't fool Edward for a single moment. Charlie's only response was a quick intake a breath. I didn't dare turn to look at him.

"What happened?" Edward asked.

"Jake sexually assaulted me and Charlie congratulated him on it." I said in a stone-cold voice. There was a loud cracking sound. I figured Edward had just killed his phone and quickly hung up the receiver.

Now that I had said it, it felt more real. More like a cold hard fact than something to throw hysterics over. Jacob didn't care how I felt. Charlie was supportive of Jake, not me. I had to get out of there.

"Come on, Bells…" Charlie's pleading voice came through. I turned away from him, not acknowledging his or Jacob's presence. I wrapped a towel around my right hand, but when I turned to leave the kitchen, Jacob placed himself in the doorway, blocking my exit.

"Get away from me," I said tonelessly, staring right through him.

"Come on, Bells," Jacob said in a chiding tone of voice. I looked up at him in disbelief. Was that how a friend was supposed to respond to your pain? I didn't believe it.

"Come on…" he repeated, putting his hand on my shoulder. I tried to shake it off, but his hand stayed. Was he just going to say 'come on' like he expected me to suddenly change my mind and take the whole incident as a joke? "Get away from me," I repeated in a slightly stronger voice. I felt Charlie's disapproving look on my back. _Well, he betrayed _my_ trust. _"Get out of my way." I was still staring through Jacob's chest when the doorbell rang. Jacob was still staring down at me with a look of disbelief. I heard Charlie sigh and walk towards the front door, but before he had taken to steps, Edward tore the door open. A second later he had torn Jacob away from me, and the boy I had thought was my friend slammed into the was and landed on the living room floor.

"Are you okay, Bella?" It was such a relief to hear his voice again, I felt like crying. Jacob was already back on his feet. "I forbid you to leave with him, Bella!" he shouted. I wanted to ignore him, then noticed he was shaking. "Don't you dare!" I shouted back. Charlie was looking from Jake to me and back to Jake. "Hey, she's right. Calm down, kid," he said in his authoritative voice, though there was a hint of fatherhood there. He lifted his hands towards Jacob, palms out. "_I_ forbid you to leave with Edward, Bella," he said without looking at me; "but _you_ need to calm down, Jacob. I'll have none of that in my house." Jacob shifted his position, shaking less violently. "Okay, but you'll regret this, Bells," he said through clenched teeth. Then he turned and bolted for the front door, which Edward hadn't taken the trouble to shut.

Charlie turned to us. "I mean it, Bella. I don't know why you are so upset, Jacob just tried to show you his love for you, but you are not leaving this house."  
>"I'm eighteen," I told him.<p>

I ignored him. I had my left arm around Edward's waist, my face buried in his chest, and he had his arms around me. I could feel that he was furious, that he wanted to run after Jacob and smash his skull in, but he restrained himself because he felt that I needed him. How I wished could deserve that kind of support. I took a deep breath and straightened myself. "We need to get my stuff," I said in a shaky voice. "What happened to your hand?" Edward grabbed my right hand, which I had forgotten about, but I found it was still aching. "I hit Jake," I whispered, barely audible. He gave me a look of not-quite-disbelief that told me I sounded horrified at myself, and I realized to my surprise that I was. Well, I didn't have time to analyze that now. "We need to get my stuff," I repeated.

In Edward's car on the way to the Cullens, I was quiet. The backseat was full of my books and a bag of clothes. Edward focused on the road, but I knew he was pretending. He could drive at a hundred miles an hour without looking at the road. He had those super-keen senses. How could he not know what I was feeling? Maybe because I didn't even know it myself. I wished to say something, but I couldn't find words or my ability to speak, and I obviously needed both. Somehow, my mind had gone blank, and my body was trembling slightly.

Had it been my fault? Had I been leading him on? Had I not just been inviting this by insisting on going to La Push? I stared out my window. I felt cold, that was what I was feeling.

I felt Edward's eyes on my back. "It wasn't your fault, you know that?" His voice was gentle. I turned to look at him. How did he know I was thinking that? He put a hand on my shoulder. "Jacob is young. He's selfish. He took what he wanted and expected you to realize what he was trying to communicate. To his mind he did nothing wrong."

I didn't answer, just put my hand over his and held it to my shoulder, closed my eyes. He lifted a finger and stroked my cheek.

"How are you?" I opened my eyes. We were almost there.  
>"What?"<br>"You aren't feeling well," he said. "You don't seem to feel guilty."  
>"Should I feel guilty?" Him, too? I searched inward. I couldn't detect any guilty feelings per se, but I felt that I could very much talk myself into feeling guilty if I wanted to. <em>Like usual<em>, I thought. Edward grabbed my chin and turned my face to his. Golden eyes, studying me intently. Okay, so his driving at this speed without looking was freaking me out a _little_.  
>"Bella. It wasn't your fault."<br>"You don't need to tell me that," I heard myself say.

I wasn't so sure, though. Had I been leading him on? Wasn't that what I'd been doing since Edward came home? I shuddered. I didn't want to imagine what could have happened. Maybe it was my fault after all. I was older than him, and obviously more in control of myself. I should have foreseen that it would happen.


End file.
